The One Word on Facebook That Could Hurt Your Credit Score

We have all become so accustomed to social media that we forget that we are leaving digital tracks EVERYWHERE. Maybe you've noticed those stalkerwear ads that tend to follow you around after you've shopped for something on the internet. Well, if that's the stuff you're seeing, imagine the information people are gathering behind the scenes.

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So how are you stealthily being monitored?

The Financial Times is reporting that some of the top credit companies are using your Facebook posts to help decide if you're a good financial risk or not. They feel like there are certain words you use that help predict whether you're going to default on a load or not.

So what's that word? Any guesses? Maybe "bankrupt", "cheat" or "debt"? You're not even close. For some reason, one of the top words they are looking for is "wasted".

I don't have any explanation for this and the source article doesn't really offer one. But data is big business these days, and somebody's data says that the word "wasted" is a predictor of your ability (or rather lack thereof) to pay back the bucks.

I'm sure now that this information has caught on they'll start to key in on other words. In fact, they no doubt already are. In the meantime, don't tell anybody how "wasted" you are on Facebook.